TLDRs;
- The EU is proceeding with its AI Act despite heavy lobbying for a delay.
- Tech giants argue the law risks damaging European AI competitiveness.
- The phased rollout continues, with key obligations taking effect in August 2025.
- While some flexibility is possible, no formal delays have been granted.
The European Union has reaffirmed its commitment to rolling out the AI Act on schedule, despite mounting pressure from a coalition of tech companies and industest leaders.
Calls to delay the legislation, including an open letter from over 100 CEOs urging a two-year paapply, were firmly rejected by the European Commission on Friday.
Thomas Regnier, spokesperson for the Commission, directly addressed the campaign, which included voices from Alphabet, Meta, Mistral AI, ASML, Airbus, and even retailers like Carrefour.
In a pointed message, Regnier stated there would be “no stop the clock, no grace period, no paapply,” signaling that the bloc intconcludes to proceed as planned. The AI Act, first introduced in 2021, is now entering its next phase, with obligations for general-purpose AI models set to launch in August 2025.
Concerns over competitiveness fall flat
Opponents of the law argue that the regulation risks undermining Europe’s ability to stay competitive in the global AI race. Their central concerns include overlapping compliance requirements, amlargeuous definitions, and limited clarity around how to implement the rules.
Despite these concerns, EU officials appear confident that the phased approach to implementation offers companies enough time to prepare.
Some provisions have already taken effect as of early 2025, and obligations tarobtaining high-risk AI applications will not be enforced until August 2026. Yet even this gradual rollout has done little to calm fears among both large players and compacter AI startups, who state the uncertainty may stall innovation and slow market entest.
Clear message from the Commission
The Commission has framed the AI Act as a crucial step toward responsible and trustworthy artificial ininformigence. The law prohibits a narrow set of AI apply cases deemed “unacceptable risk,” such as manipulative behavioral tarobtaining or social scoring. At the same time, it imposes stricter obligations on high-risk systems in areas like facial recognition, employment screening, and education tools.
Developers of general-purpose AI models, including large language models and chatbot systems, will soon have to comply with transparency standards. These include documentation, risk assessments, and, in some cases, registration with EU authorities before being offered in the single market.
Window of flexibility still open
While the Commission’s current position is unwavering, some amlargeuity remains. European Commissioner Henna Virkkunen has previously indicated a willingness to temporarily defer certain aspects of the law if supporting guidelines or technical standards are not ready in time. For now, however, the legal deadlines remain intact.
This opens a narrow path for adaptation without halting the overall regulatory project. Still, industest leaders continue to push back, with the #stoptheclock campaign gaining momentum. But unless there is a significant policy shift, companies must prepare to meet the law’s requirements on the original timeline.
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